This is a family friendly blog for those who love dolls and toys. The blog is a forum for all apsects of doll history, doll collecting, and doll making. It is the first step in creating a nonprofit doll center to educate the public about the historical role that dolls, the oldest human cultural artifact, play in the the lives of people all over the world. All excerpts are the author's intellectual property and may not be reproduced in any means withoutreceiving permission from the author.

My husband led me to a fantastic Victorian doll house yesterday. After we chatted with a great couple who built it, we came home with VanV...

Sand Baby Castaways

Courtesy, Glenda Rolle the Artist

PM Dolls

Leo Moss

German Dolls

Formerly, Aunt Len's.

Beecher Doll

Graces cover of Lenon Hoyte Auction, Aunt Len's

Foreign Dolls

Pryor Collection

Pryor Doll Collection

In Dec. 1959 Natl. Geographic

Great Book

Edward VI's Doll, 1540

Formerly, Helen Moe Doll Museum

Rare "frozen metal doll" Mannikin Pis

Courtesy, eBay Eilleen, Finder 27

Vintage Japanese Doll Joins our Museum Family

Courtesy, Southern Soldier Antiques

Rare Frozen Charlotte Type

A Pageant of Dolls

By Lesley Gordon, 1948

Hong Kong Lili

Barbie Stamp

An early Vintage Barbie

Bild Lili

Zinc Bodied Rohmer

Caused a suit between Mme. Rohmer and Mlle. Huret

Metal Dydee Baby

17th century Lead Dolls

England

Doll Shaped Mold

cf Dolls and Puppets by von Boehn

Metal Head

Probably Minerva

Black Metal Head

Russian Nesting Doll Charm

18 inch Metal Head

Mlle Bleuette

14th C Munich Clay Doll

Used as Bapitsmal Gifts

Halopeau artists rendering

Toy maker

Restored dolls

L to R: All vinyl mid-60s, Ragggedy Ann, handmade, new arms and clothes, Barbie Type as Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia. Black Felt Dress, white silk flowers and ribbons. She is in one piece, but with a swivel waist that does snap in two!

Here is a tribute to the Hero of the Hour for All time. I grew up during the space program, when interest in NASA was at its peak.

Space Dolls, Aliens and Killer Meteorites?Maybe not!

Space toy and dolls are as popular as ever, but so is
interest in “real space collectibles” like meteorites and the various
telescopes and other implements used to study the heavens.

My family belongs to our local Astronomy Club and takes part
in Astronomy Day every year.The
Planetarium where our club meets has displayed a moon rock in the past, but
also comic books and other types of models and space memorabilia.

Below is a summary of the recent news story about a man
supposedly killed by a meteorite, as well as some background information about
space objects and space dolls and collectibles.

Recently, international media was abuzz with a story about a
man in India
allegedly killed by a meteorite shooting its way to earth.Supposedly, history was made, since this
unfortunate person would have been the first in modern history to have been
killed by a meteorite.

Eclipse of the Moon, Dino Milani

On Saturday February 6, 2016, something fell from the sky
and crashed into the campus of an engineering college located in Vellore, India.A water tank exploded when the object fell,
and a bus driver standing close the point of impact, Mr. V. Kamaraj, was
killed.He was going to drink water.Three others were injured.A government official announced that Mr.
Kamaraj was killed by a falling meteorite. Yet, The New York Times reported no meteor showers occurred in the area.

NASA announced the victim was not killed by a meteorite.Besides the folks at NASA, other scientists,
including one investigating the site of the crash in India have voiced skepticism.The rock discovered at the scene has not been
analyzed yet, but it was too small to kill someone.

Spock Action Figure, Public Domain

Buck Rogers, Vintage Alien Figures, Tsagaris Collection

At this point, it looks like the falling object was space
junk that entered the earth’s atmosphere. Still, one person’s space junk can be
another person’s collectible.Remember
Jack Nicholson’s astronaut character in “Terms of Endearment?”His house was filled with space collectibles
and NASA memorabilia.

Still, the myth of the meteorite fall is alive and well in
popular culture, yet a meteorite did land in Russia
in a major metropolitan area in Chelyabinsk
region in 2013.Some 100 people were
injured, and there was a lot of property damage, but no deaths. That meteor
weighted 10 metric tons and was several yards in diameter.

There are unconfirmed reports of perhaps five or six people
killed in China over 1000
years ago, and another about someone killed in India 200 years ago. There is also
a historical claim of someone in Ancient Egypt being killed by a meteorite.
There are many other unsubstantiated international reports of animal deaths,
and property damage, by meteorite falls.

In 1954, a rare confirmed report notes that a woman in Alabama was badly
bruised by an actual meteorite that crashed through her roof into her bedroom.
That meteorite weighed 9 pounds.

So what are meteorites?According to New England Meteoritical Services, they are pieces of
“other bodies’ in the solar system that fall to earth when “a meteor or ‘shooting
star’ flashes through our atmosphere” at speeds of 32,000 to 150,000 miles per
hour.Most are created when asteroids
collide. A few fall from the moon, and the rest from other planets, comets, and
a very rare few from Mars.For example,
around 60,000 meteorites have been found on Earth; only 124 have been confirmed
to be Martian. The oldest are chondrites, stone meteorites formed 4.56 billion
years ago.The other very rare type of
stone meteorite is called an achondrite.Because of their rarity and primitive origins, meteorites are sought
after by collectors and scientists.

Star Trek by Mego, Public Domain. Also in author's collection

Collectible meteorites and space objects appear at rock,
gem, and mineral shows, though they may be very small.I even purchased a piece of the planet Venus,
or so I was told, that looks like the head of a very tiny pin. It is encased in
its own special protective box.

Besides meteorites and other space artifacts, many
collectors like to collect astronaut dolls, figures, and toys.Aliens and space vehicles also have their devotees.

We only have to look at reruns of “That 70s Show” or past
and current episodes of “Big Bang Theory” to see examples of “Star Wars” and
“Star Trek” action figures and collectibles.

Some “Star Wars” action figures can fetch over
$100,000.Entire books are devoted to
them, and even Madame Alexander and Ideal have made dolls of the
characters.Target and Walmart offer 31
inch and 48 inch action figures that often talk and make sound that represent
Darth Vader, Storm Troopers, and other “Star Wars” characters. Each new film has spawned countless figures,
dolls, licensed objects, plush figures, beanies, mechanicals dolls, and all
sorts of toys.We have quite a
collection of Hallmark Star Wars Christmas ornaments as well, and a large, plus
Yoda holding a Halloween Pumpkin.We
also have ornaments to create a Yoda pumpkin at Halloween, and a Yoda mask.

With the untimely death of Carrie Fisher on the eve of the latest movie, interest in Star Wars is stronger than ever. Spooky alien figures inspired by Living Dead Dolls and Svengoolie movies also spark an interest in space and rocket culture.

Even Christmas, with its astronaut ornaments, some by Hallmark, which includes The Eagle has Landed, Star Wars and Star Trek, Sputnik ornaments are hot collectibles.

Star Trek has had its share of toys and celebrity dolls from
the shows beginning.“Star Trek” only
aired a few years as a prime time show, but it quickly made up for its lack of
network longevity in syndication and video popularity.Mego dolls and figures of the characters are
very desirable, and newer figures also sell well.There are even bisque collectors’ dolls and a
Star Trek Ken and Barbie Set.Hallmark also has provided a series of
ornaments, some mechanical, of the characters and their space ships.“Star Trek; The Next Generation” and “Star
Trek Deep Space Nine” have inspired many dolls, action figures, and other
projects in various price ranges.In the
early 90s, one of my friends offered an original Star Trek jersey in her
shop.We often visited the model ofThe Enterprise displayed at Riverside, Iowa,
“future” birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.

My Spock dolls are especially important to me, since I had
the honor of meeting Leonard Nimoy and obtaining his autograph.I also was able to obtain the autograph of
James Doohan, engineer “Scotty.”These
objects are nice to display with dolls of the era.

Paper Dolls Public Domain

The G.I. Joe astronaut hand his space capsule are classics
by Hasbro.Major Matt Mason and his
various accessories are unusual and fun to own.Barbie has appeared as an astronaut at least
3 times, as have Snoopy of The Peanuts Gang and Disney’s Goofy and Mickey
Mouse. Lot of other astronaut sets and toys, some with Martians and other aliens have been made and are still sold by dollar stories.

Warner Bros. Martian has been created as a doll. Roswell
Aliens are popular Halloween props in all media.ET appears as a plush doll, and as a talking
doll and mini action figure.The extra
terrestrial from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” were popular in the 30s
along with the “Gremlins” characters. I have a blow up alien doll dressed in a blue, calico dress my mom made. Another doll wears a dress with an alien embroidered on the front, done by doll dress designer extraordinaire, Roberta Evans.

The Alien Queen from “Alien” made during the late 70s is a
rare collectible, but smaller figures from the 90s do well, too.I missed out on the large figure, but found a
smaller one complete with molded high heels!My mother, as was her want, knitted her a red outfit.She also dressed one of my green Roswell
Alien dolls.

The Martian Spy Girl and Mork have appeared in doll form,
and let’s not forget that even Superman was from another planet.Lots of my Superman dolls came from
Metropolis, IL, home of Superman, and of a museum devoted to him.Wonderwoman also comes from another
planet.Mattel brought us Spectra, a
Barbie type figure that was jointed with metallic paint on her arms and legs,
and Guardians of the Galaxy.They also
created Masters of the Universe and Galoob gave us The Golden Girl Figures.
This is just a sampling of what is available; don’t forget tiny little plastic
spacemen and their ships that still appear on dollar store shelves.

Dr. Who figures and toys are extremely popular, and if you
look, you can find the knitted figures from the film “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy.My favorite Dr. Who characters
are those by Robert Tonner and the smaller figures of The Clockwork Men.

Star Wars Public Domain

RIP Princess Leia

I have aliens and space men created during the 1930s, and we
also have a Flash Gordon rocket and a Buddy –L model of the space shuttle.More alien toys became popular after Orson
Welles broadcast “The War of the Worlds.”“Battle Star Galactica”, “Toy Story”, “Red Dwarf” and “Small Soldiers”
also provided us with dolls and toys.

Dr. Who Public Domain. Check Pinterest for Boards on The Doctor

We don’t have the space to go into dolls and figures that
represent The Zodiac,

This just in, as I’m typing, “Yanni” is doing a special from
Cairo, Egypt on PBS that is also being
broadcast to The International Space Station.Major Scott Kelley is addressing the crowd!How’s that for doll serendipity?!

Public Domain

So, next time you look up at the stars, or read about
astronomy, remember that dolls and collectibles appeal to scientists, and to
other creatures of the heavens, too!

﻿

Public Domain

﻿

Remarkable Creatures: The Fossil Shop by Ellen Tsagaris, a Shadowbox. The Jar on the topmost

shelf with the black lid contains meteorites. The description is on the white poster on the wall up and to its right.

References*

“All about meteorites.” Armagh
Planetarium. Retrieved from http://

armaghplanet.com/html/meteorites.html.

Biswas, Soutik.
“Did a meteorite kill a man in India?”
Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35538484.